Popular Professor Energizes ACM Chapter

Joining the University of Cincinnati School of Computing Sciences and Informatics faculty this fall is Paul Talaga, assistant professor educator. As of late, Talaga has been working directly with the student chapter of the Association for Computing Machinery (ACM) to offer a series of lectures. His goal, along with ACM student president Jonah Back and vice president Priya Chawla, is to get students focused on the field of computer science and information technology.

ACM, the Association for Computing Machinery, is an international scientific and educational organization dedicated to advancing the arts, sciences, and applications of information technology. With a worldwide membership of 80,000, ACM functions as a locus for computing professionals and students working in the various fields of information technology.

In commenting on the students' drive to re-energize the student ACM chapter, Talaga notes that "compared to other universities I've seen, UC has high-caliber students with an energy and a drive to learn that goes unmatched. This energy and ambition is what will make all the difference in reviving the UC ACM student chapter. I have no doubt that the efforts of both the faculty and students will make it a strong and thriving organization."

In addition to working with the student chapter of ACM, Talaga stays busy as a faculty member of the Center for Robotics Research and the Collaboratory for Medical Innovation and Implementation. The Center for Robotics Research works with industry engineers and scientists, faculty, undergraduate and graduate students, and the community on a variety of robotics activities including research, teaching and service activities. The Collaboratory for Medical Innovation and Implementation strives to achieve excellence in research and education with collaboration between faculty in the College of Medicine (COM), the College of Nursing (CON) and the College of Engineering & Applied Science (CEAS).

Talaga hails from New York City. He earned dual bachelors of arts degrees in computer science and mathematics from St. Lawrence University in 2003, followed by an MS and PhD in computer and information science from Syracuse University in 2012. In Spring 2012, he defended his working dissertation titled “Exploiting Data Locality for Accelerating Dynamic Web Applications,” achieving his doctorate in computer science.

The young professor may have just started at UC, but his experience is highly commendable. Talaga started his career as a dynamics intern at Segway in 2001. He then served as assistant network administrator for the Himalayan Institute, where he assisted with maintaining the institute’s network and computers, as well as general troubleshooting and repair. Talaga was also a mathematics technician for the Air Force Research Laboratory, a teacher’s assistant at Syracuse University and finally, a programmer at the Veterans Administration Medical Research Program in Syracuse.

When asked about his decision to join the faculty at the University of  Cincinnati, Talaga stated, "I was attracted to UC for its beautiful campus, as it has truly impressive architecture, and more importantly, by the friendly atmosphere. I'm still in awe of the magnitude of friendliness here. My reception has been more than pleasant. It's been warm and truly welcoming."

In 1998, Talaga started his own technology company, Fuzzpault Technologies, which specializes in web design, web hosting, computer repair, at-home repair and instruction. He still owns and operates the web-based company.

Talaga’s research interests focus on data locality in geographically distributed web systems, cloud security, evolutionary/neural network-based artificial intelligence systems in relation to robotics, and the teaching of computer science at the undergraduate and graduate level.

It’s involved professors like Talaga that keep UC's College of Engineering and Applied Science (CEAS) pioneering innovative approaches to education.